Production and Photoelectric Activity of P and Al Co‐Doped ZnO Nanomaterials

Rapid preparation and antimicrobial activity of polyurea coatings with RE-Doped nano-ZnO

The recent COVID‐19 virus has led to a rising interest in antimicrobial and antiviral coatings for frequently touched surfaces in public and healthcare settings. Such coatings may have the ability to kill a variety of microorganisms and bio‐structures and reduce the risk of virus transmission. This paper proposes an extremely rapid method to introduce rare‐earth doping nano‐ZnO in polyamines for the preparation of the anti‐microbial polyurea coatings. The nano‐ZnO is prepared by wet chemical method, and the RE‐doped nano‐ZnO was obtained by mixing nano ZnO and RE‐dopants with an appropriate amount of nitric acid. This rapidly fabricated polyurea coating can effectively reduce bacteria from enriching on the surface. Comparing with pure nano‐ZnO group, all the polyurea coatings with four different rare‐earth elements (La, Ce, Pr and Gd) doped nano‐ZnO. The La‐doped nano‐ZnO formula group indicates the highest bactericidal rate over 85% to Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pseudomonas). Followed by Ce/ZnO, the bactericidal rate may still remain as high as 83% at room temperature after 25‐min UV‐exposure. It is believed that the RE‐doping process may greatly improve the photocatalytic response to UV light as well as environmental temperature due to its thermal catalytic enhancement. Through the surface characterizations and bioassays, the coatings have a durably high bactericidal rate even after repeated usage. As polyurea coating itself has high mechanical strength and adhesive force with most substrate materials without peel‐off found, this rapid preparation method will also provide good prospects in practical applications.

Synthesis and Surface Engineering of Inorganic Nanomaterials Based on Microfluidic Technology

The controlled synthesis and surface engineering of inorganic nanomaterials hold great promise for the design of functional nanoparticles for a variety of applications, such as drug delivery, bioimaging, biosensing, and catalysis. However, owing to the inadequate and unstable mass/heat transfer, conventional bulk synthesis methods often result in the poor uniformity of nanoparticles, in terms of microstructure, morphology, and physicochemical properties. Microfluidic technologies with advantageous features, such as precise fluid control and rapid microscale mixing, have gathered the widespread attention of the research community for the fabrication and engineering of nanomaterials, which effectively overcome the aforementioned shortcomings of conventional bench methods. This review summarizes the latest research progress in the microfluidic fabrication of different types of inorganic nanomaterials, including silica, metal, metal oxides, metal organic frameworks, and quantum dots. In addition, the surface modification strategies of nonporous and porous inorganic nanoparticles based on microfluidic method are also introduced. We also provide the readers with an insight on the red blocks and prospects of microfluidic approaches, for designing the next generation of inorganic nanomaterials.

Rapid degradation of unmanageable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by a C-ZnO solid solution nanocatalyst

Unmanageable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were rapidly degraded by a C atom-doped ZnO solid solution (C-ZnO SS) nanocatalyst due to the sucker effect.

Enhanced photoelectric properties by the coordinating role of doping and modification

Dual technique design in this research has successfully enriched the complementation between doping and surface modification. Here, Co(2+) doped Ag-ZnO nanocomposites (CAZ NCs) are mass produced by the combustion method. The HRTEM image shows that the doped Co(2+) and the surface modified Ag nanoparticles on the ZnO NCs are influential on the preferential orientation. Based on the conductivity formula σ = nqμ and the actual verification, the improved photoelectric properties of CAZ NCs under visible light irradiation are attributed to the enhanced light absorption and the weakened recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. It would be instructive for the sound design concept of subsequent material development.